


The Last Night

by twdsunshine



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Pre-Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 20:47:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13796037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdsunshine/pseuds/twdsunshine
Summary: The reader has fled back to her parents after witnessing the early stages of the apocalypse outbreak further North.  When she bumps into an old school-friend outside of a bar as she tries to distract herself from her loss, she opens up to Daryl Dixon about the horrific things she’s seen, but little do they know that the trouble has followed her home, and that Daryl has just enjoyed his last night of normality, as the dead begin to walk.





	The Last Night

You stepped out into the cool night air, the caress of the breeze against your feverishly hot skin instantly soothing you, as the thrum of the bass from the band followed you out of the bar, interrupting the quietness of the evening.  You leant back against the wall, tugging your little black dress further down your thighs, and slipping your feet out of the heels that had been pinching your toes for the last hour, sighing in relief as the blood flowed back into them, and wiggling them against the smooth tarmac of the parking lot.  You were surrounded by beat-up old pick-ups, and worse-for-wear motorbikes, all destined to be left there for the night going on the state of the drunken crowd inside.

An orange pinprick of light over by the far corner of the building caught your eye, and you squinted to make out a figure crouching against the wall there, sucking on a cigarette, his features shrouded in darkness.  Too whiskey-confident to be nervous, you scooped your shoes up with two fingers and picked your way tentatively over to the bar’s other escapee, careful to avoid any fag ends or broken glass.

As you moved closer, you were able to make out the familiar face through the gloom, the short-cut hair, the permanent scowl and bearded chin of Daryl Dixon.  You’d had such a crush on this man at school, but it wasn’t something you would ever have admitted to.  Nice girls didn’t hook up with Dixons, it just wasn’t done.  He’d changed since you last saw him, his shoulders were broader now, the muscles in his arms more defined, and you guessed if he’d been standing he’d have grown a few inches too.  It had been a long time.  He didn’t glance up until you’d dropped to the floor beside him.

‘Fuck.’  He groaned, taking another long drag of his smoke and shaking his head.  'Y/N?  That you?’

'Yeah, it’s me.  Never thought I’d see your face again.’  

'Right back at ya.  Thought ya got outta this town years ago.’

'Yeah, I… I did.’

'So, what ya doin’ back here, girl?’  

'Well, I’ve been living on the East Coast, near Philly, but… Some weird things have been happening up there the last couple of days, I guess there’s been some kind of epidemic broken out or something…  Anyway, things got kinda crazy so I booked on to the next flight and came back to stay with my folks for a little while.’

'Shit,’ his voice was concerned as he stubbed out his cigarette and looked back over at you.  'Y'alright?  Sounds pretty messed up.’

'Yeah,’ you nodded, though you avoided his gaze as you picked at a hole in your tights.  'Yeah, I, erm… I saw some things that will stay with me, but…  I’m alright.’

At his questioning look, you shook your head.  'I don’t really wanna talk about it.' 

'Fair enough.’  His eyes flicked back to the ground, and he shook his head.  'Damn, you prob'ly think this place ain’t changed a bit since ya left, huh?’

'It is a bit of a time warp,’ you admitted.  'It’s kinda nice though, y'know.  Familiar.’

'Ain’t so nice if ya’ve been stuck 'ere, I can tell ya.’

'I guess not.’  You glanced over at him, watching as he picked at the skin around his thumbnail, a nervous habit which had obviously stayed with him since school.  'So, what are you doing with yourself these days, Dixon?’

He shrugged.  'Not a whole lot, to be honest.  I mostly just hang with Merle, do whatever he’s doin’.  S'easier that way.’

'Merle’s still around, then?’  

'Oh yeah.  Left to join the army for a bit, but got kicked out pretty quick once they realised what a son o’ a bitch he is.  Don’t think the drug problem helped none either.  So, now he’s back 'ere, raisin’ hell an’ pissin’ his life away like the rest of us.’  

'And your dad?’  You saw Daryl’s body tense up at the question and instantly regretted it.  Everyone knew that Mr Dixon was an evil man, his mind warped by drink and depression, and that his sons had always borne the brunt of his sadistic tendencies, but it was hard to do anything to help such a closed off family.  

'He’s still alive.  S'about all that’s worth sayin’ 'bout 'im.’  

'Right.’  The silence that fell felt awkward, and you shifted uncomfortably, noticing as Daryl’s eyes flicked to the hem of your dress as it rode slightly too far up your thighs.  

He cleared his throat, averting his gaze to the sky, and leaning his head back against the wall behind him.  'So, what’s yer story then?  What ya been doin’ all these years since ya left town?’

Glad for the change of subject, you rambled on for a while, filling him in on the details of your life since you’d moved away to college, forever grateful that your parents had had the good sense to save their own earnings, and a chunk of money left to them by your grandfather, so that you’d been able to go to the school of your choice.  'Well, I studied psychology, which was way more difficult than I thought it would be, but I loved it.  Like, the whole subject just fascinates me, y'know, learning about the theories behind why people do what they do, the biology behind it, the behavioural conditioning… I learnt a lot, and I graduated with a pretty good grade, but trying to find a job where my education was actually relevant was impossible, so I took a secretarial role when I left at a global sales company in Philly.  Worked there for a couple of years, then got promoted to P.A. to one of the Junior Directors.  His name was Chris and, well, one thing led to another, and I married him, wow, must be… five years ago now.  We have a nice little life, together, y'know.  Or… we did, anyway.’

A sob tried to force its way up your throat, escaping despite your efforts to choke it back down.  Daryl’s face was horrified as he watched tears well up in your eyes and spill over, streaming down your cheeks in mascara-tinged trails.  

'Did?  He’s not down here with ya, then?’

'No.  No, he, ermm…’  You took a deep breath, needing to talk to someone about this despite what you’d said earlier, but knowing that no one would actually believe you.  'He got caught up in the whole epidemic thing, I guess.  He got home on Thursday evening and, as he got out the car, some freak walked up to him on the driveway and…  God, he, like, bit him or something, pretty much completely ripped his throat out.’

Daryl’s eyes were wide as you spoke, and his hand came to rest on top of yours which was trembling against your thigh.  'Shit, I’m sorry, Y/N.’

'I was watching from the kitchen window.  I always look out for him to get home, y'know, especially when he’s working late.  I saw it happen but I just… I couldn’t stop it.  I ran to him, and I tried to fight this guy off, the one who’d attacked him, but he was just… It was like he was possessed or something.  I’d never seen anything like it.  His eyes were…  God, I can’t even describe it.  In the end, I shoved him away as hard as I could and he tripped and bashed his own head in on one of the drive markers in our garden.  I’m still not really sure if that makes me a murderer or not.’  You let out a harsh bark of laughter, and Daryl’s grip on your fingers tightened.  

'Y'ain’t no murderer, girl.  Sounds like the fucker had it comin’.’

You nodded slowly, your eyes glazed over as you watched the events of that evening unfold again in front of your eyes.  'I didn’t even give him a second glance.  I was too…  My husband was lying there, dying, right in front of me, and I couldn’t…  He was all I could see, y'know.  I was screaming for help, but it was like no one could hear me.  And then I realised that it was happening all around me, that more people had been hurt, or… bitten, by these monsters.  So, I just sat there and watched as he tried to keep breathing.  His eyes were on my face the whole time, like he was begging me to help him, but I just… I couldn’t.  And then he was gone.  God, I really thought he was gone.’

You sniffed loudly, scrubbing your free hand over your face in an effort to try to stop the tears, but they just kept on stubbornly falling.  'I reached over to close his eyes, y'know, like they always do on TV when someone dies.  I wanted him to look more peaceful.  I just couldn’t take him looking at me anymore.  But then…’

You erupted into noisy, hiccuping sobs, lost in your grief and confusion, barely registering when the contact-shy Daryl released your hand to wrap an arm around your shoulders and pull you into his chest, the smell of whiskey washing over you as his breath hit your face.  ’S'okay, girl.  Let it out.’

'No.’  You pushed him away, sitting up from the wall and taking deep shaky breaths as you tried to collect yourself enough to tell him what had happened next.  'No, you don’t understand.  He wasn’t dead.’

'He wasn’t?’

'No.  He… He grabbed my wrist as I pulling away from him, and his eyes opened again, but they were…  They weren’t right.  They were… milky, and… different.  I  can’t describe it, but they were like the guy who bit him.  And then he attacked me.  He was snapping his teeth at me like he was an animal.  It was…  Honest to God, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.’

'I believe ya,’ he reassured you, reaching out to tentatively rub soothing circles on your back.  'What did ya do?’

'I panicked.  I ran into the house and locked the door behind me.  I just left him out there!’

'No one can blame ya for that, Y/N.’

'I blame myself.  He was my husband and I just left him out there.’

'Sounds like he woulda hurt ya if ya hadn’t.’

'Maybe, but…  Anyway, I threw some clothes into a bag, grabbed my keys, and jumped in the car.’  You pictured yourself creeping through the internal door into the garage, sliding into the driver’s seat, and taking a deep breath to prepare yourself, before you pressed the button that would open the automatic garage door.  The chaos that had been going on around you as you’d tended to your dying husband had only gotten worse in the few minutes since you’d scrambled desperately back into your home, and you sat for a second, horrified by the scene playing out in your rearview mirror.  And then Chris had been there, clawing at your back window, his movements jerky and unnerving, and you’d put the car into reverse, slammed your foot down on the accelerator and squealed out onto the drive, knocking him to the ground, before tearing off along the street towards the airport.

'And now…  Well, now I’m here, I guess.’  Your eyes finally met his, and you smirked at him sadly.  'You probably think I’m crazy.  I mean, even I kinda think I might be crazy.  I won’t blame you if you don’t believe me.’

'I-’

Daryl’s words were interrupted  by a loud, inhuman groan that sounded from somewhere within the darkened parking lot, and you were on your feet instantly, staring wildly around and looking for the source of the noise.   _Oh God no, please no, not here too_.  A hunched-over figure staggered out from behind a pick-up, it’s arms reaching for you, as it closed the space between you, Daryl levering himself to his feet and pushing you behind him.

'No, Daryl, it’s one of them.’

'One o’ what?’

'One of the things that bit Chris!’

'I thought ya said it was a person that bit 'im.’

'It was.  It is.  But it isn’t!  I don’t know!’  you stammered, your chest tightening in panic as the man got closer, his jaws snapping in his sunken face, his eyes yellow and monstrous.  'Daryl, don’t let it bite you!’

'I wasn’t plannin’ on it.’  He placed his hands firmly on center of your attacker’s chest and shoved it roughly away.

'You have to smash its head in,’ you murmured, remembering the frightened chatter that you’d heard in the terminal when you were waiting for your flight, the scenes of riot police armed with spears, striking out and impaling the creatures’ brains, that had flickered across the TV screens dotted around the hall.  'It’s the only way to stop them.' 

You spun on the balls of your feet, searching in the shadows for anything that you could use to defend yourself, but there was nothing within reach, and Daryl was shaking his head as he wrestled with the man, struggling to twist himself away from the teeth that tried to tear at his skin.

'No way, I ain’t fuckin’ killin’ anyone, Y/N.’

'You have to!’

'What? An’ end up in jail?’

'No, you won’t, I promise.  But you have to, Daryl.  It’ll kill you otherwise, and me, and every single person in that bar.’

A flash of inspiration hit you, and you dropped to your knees, feeling blindly around in the shadows until your fingers met the soft suede of your discarded shoes.  You span back round, armed with the deadly spike of the stiletto, just in time to see Daryl aim a sharp kick to the groaning man’s knee, sending him tumbling to the ground, before driving his heel into his skull with a loud crack as the bone gave way.  

'Uck,’ he grunted, pulling his boot from the head it was embedded in with a squelching noise that turned your stomach.  

Another groan sounded from several yards away and you backed away, your eyes wide with fear.

'Daryl, we need to get out of here.’

'But Merle’s inside!’

'Then get him and run.  They’re coming.  More of them will come.  You need to get out of town!’

'Y/N, what the hell’s goin’ on?’

'I don’t know!’ you shouted.  'I don’t know, but this is what happened in Philly, and now…’

'Now what?’  He was moving now too, away from you and in the direction of the door to the bar, as more shadowy figures stumbled around the corner of the building.

'Now there’s nothing left.’

'Look, come with me, Y/N!  I’ll keep ya safe!’  His hand was reaching for you, and more than anything you wanted to take it, to put your life in the hands of this man - the man you used to watch across the classroom when you were kids, chewing on the end of his pen, his brow furrowed in concentration; the man who’d listened to you pour your heart out, who’d comforted you when you’d described the horror of losing your husband; the man who was now willing to protect you against what was coming - but you couldn’t.  Taking a deep breath, you closed the space between you, gripping his stubbled cheeks in your hands and pulling his face to yours, pressing a short, hard kiss to his lips.  You let the warmth flow through your fear-chilled body for just a second, then pulled away before he could respond.

'I have to get to my folks, Daryl.  Just… Be careful!  Please, survive, okay?  Avoid the big cities.  It’s where they’ll tell you to go, but it’s a mistake.  They’ll fall!  They’ll all fall!’

'Y/N-’

'Just go!’

You took off, sprinting across the ground and refusing to look back, ignoring the tiny stones that tore at your tights and cut into your bare feet.  You weaved around the extended arms and clutching hands of the creatures that wanted to rip at your flesh, to tear you to pieces, and you ran until you thought your chest might explode, as your heart pounded loudly in your ears.

You were almost there, almost at your parents’ house, with its little green door and the glow of the porch light, left on to guide you home, when you heard a loud growl from behind you and felt bony fingers wrapping around your arm, dragging you to the ground before you could turn to defend yourself.  Sharp canines pierced the skin of your shoulder, scraping against your collarbone as your flesh was ripped away.  You let out a high-pitched shriek of pain, but no one came to help you, as the monster above you feasted.  Fire rushed through your body, turning your internal organs to ash, as your skin became slick with blood and sweat, your vision blurring before everything went black.

  


* * *

  


'I gotta find 'er, Merle.  I’d be dead if it wasn’ for her.’

'You sure you aren’t just chasin’ a fine bit o’ tail, here, brother?  Cos if y’aren’t, this is a pretty dumbass mission ya’ve got us on.’

'Shut the hell up.’

The two bickering Dixon brothers strode along the road, armed with pool cues and covered in the gore of crushed brains.  Their world had changed in the space of the last half an hour as they’d fought their way out of the bar, and it was too big for either of them to wrap their heads around in that moment, and so they were each dealing with it the best way they could.  For Daryl, that was to keep busy, to give himself a purpose and, right now, that was finding Y/N and making sure she was okay.  For Merle, it was to continue to taunt his brother as he always did, drawing comfort from the normality of something as natural as picking on his younger sibling.

They rounded the corner onto Y/N’s street, Daryl letting out a muttered curse at the sight of the bodies that littered the pavement, the car pressed up against the big oak tree at the side of the road, smoking from its battered bonnet.  

'We’re too late, Daryl.’

'Nah.’  Daryl pressed on, storming towards her house, his eyes scanning the corpses around him, until he found the one he was both looking for and praying not to see.  'Fuck.’

She was crumpled like a broken doll, blood seeping through her dress, her rosebud lips contorted in pain even in death.  The flesh around her collarbone was mangled, the sinews and bone exposed, and Daryl swallowed hard to fight the bile that was rising in his throat.  

'Come on, bro.  We need to head to Atlanta.  If there’s help, that’s where it’ll be.’

'Nah,’ Daryl said again.  'Nah, she said that’d be a mistake.  She said the cities all fell up North.’

'Well, I’m doubting she’s the best person to take advice from,’ Merle smirked, surveying the stillness of the body at his feet.  'It obviously didn’t do her no good.’

Daryl hesitated, his mind whirling as he thought of what it was best to do.  'Alright,’ he agreed.  'We’ll head towards the city, but we’ll go off-road, take the truck an’ head through the fields.  It’ll get us close enough to see what’s goin’ on, but we won’t get caught up in the jams on the highway if anythin’ goes wrong.’

'And who exactly made you the boss, baby brother?’

Daryl shoved his chest into his brother’s, squaring up to him, his eyes narrowed.  'The world is going to shit right now, in case ya hadn’t noticed.  There ain’t time to fuckin’ argue.’

'Alright, alright.’  Merle backed off, his hands raised in surrender, though his face was painted with amusement.  'Let’s do this then.’

Daryl turned to look at her one more time, wishing he could somehow make her face more peaceful, but more groans and growls were drifting down the street on the breeze and he knew it was time to go.

'Thanks,’ he whispered, reaching out a hand towards her, before backing away, turning to follow his brother down the street, ready for whatever came next.  


End file.
